The present invention relates to locks for toilet bowl lids.
Toilet bowls present an attraction to curious infants, due especially to the presence of water in the bowl. At the same time, the toilet is a source of danger, since serious harm may befall an infant who accidentally falls into an open bowl. Moreover, an infant may attempt to drop items into the water, which items may be of value and/or can clog the plumbing.
Numerous suggestions for locking toilet bowl lids have been proposed, in an effort to minimize these dangers, as exemplified, for example in Schell U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 3,431,004 issued Mar. 4, 1969; Miller U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 3,056,972 issued Oct. 9, 1972; Lawrence et al U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 4,060,851 issued Dec. 6, 1977; Rowe et al U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 2,651,053 issued Sept. 8, 1953; and Bruckner U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 2,698,439 issued Jan. 4, 1955.
However, the devices disclosed in these patents do not satisfy all of the following requirements of a toilet lid lock, namely, that the lock be (i) reliably infant-proof and yet easily actuated by an older child or adult, (ii) easily attached to a toilet bowl; and (iii) easily movable between retracted and locking positions.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to minimize or obviate problems of the type discussed above.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel locking apparatus for a toilet lid.
A further object of the invention is to provide a toilet lid locking mechanism which is infant-proof and yet easily actuated by an older child or adult.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a toilet lid lock which is easily attached to a toilet bowl and is easily movable between retracted and locking positions.